A variety of head enclosing treatment hoods have been developed for use in the delivery of gas, including oxygen, to the wearer. Such a delivery system may be desirable for directing clean air or other gases into the hood for breathing by the wearer. This function is also desirable in use as a hyperbaric oxygen treatment system wherein the patient is exposed to increased barometric pressure inside a decompression chamber, while wearing the hood device and receiving an oxygen rich environment. It may be desirable to have such a head enclosing treatment hood wherein the hood is transparent so the wearer can see outside of the device and so that an adequate seal is provided between the wearer and the enclosing treatment hood.
In many different instances, patients must have their entire head enclosed in a treatment hood or wearing an aerosol mask device to receive the prescribed pressurized air or gas treatment. It is therefor desirable to have the transparent hood surrounding the patient's head and also having an efficient assembly for connecting the hood with a neck ring and a neck seal forming a seal around the patient's neck and allowing the hood area of the device to be filled with the treatment gas, often times pressurized. It is therefor essential that an adequate seal be made between the hood and the hood ring retaining the hood as well as between the hood ring and the neck ring and neck seal.
Various hoods are disclosed in the prior art including U.S. Pat. No. 5,226,409, U.S. Pat. No. 4,620,538 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,819,728. In all of these prior art devices, various hood and neck ring assemblies are disclosed. However, in these designs, there is no teaching of a simplified sealing and connection-system between the hood ring and the neck ring and neck seal. Some of the devices disclosed in the above-referenced patent have complex or difficult structures to ensure sealing between the neck ring and neck seal and also include structure which does not readily retain the proper pressure within the hood. It is also found in these prior art devices that after repeated wear on various surfaces of the devices, the seal between the hood and the hood ring may be corrupted. It is further noted that the prior art devices include complex or difficult attachment processes for affixing the neck seal to the neck ring or in assembly of the device. All of these shortcomings are resolved by the design of the head enclosing gas hood of the present invention.
Moreover, in the treatment of respiratory ailments, performed outside a pressurized environment, masks which are placed over the nose and mouth with elevated air flow rates have become widely acceptable. However, theses masks have been found to be extremely uncomfortable by the respiratory patient, resulting in a decreased compliance with the prescribed treatment regimen.